Electra Townie - First Motorized Bike Build

Dude. I never said I knew more than anyone. I came asking for help.

Maybe I am misreading your tone. I’m just asking questions and communicating.

Let me know if I’m not welcome.
You are totally welcome here twojs, it is just that you have already decided for yourself that a Trek made Electra aluminum frame is high grade...It IS, for a regular pedal bicycle but the laws of physics dictate to me what I have just passed on to you.

My local bicycle shop here in town have had a steadfast rule since their inception many years ago.
They refuse to do any work whatsoever on motorised bicycles...Why, do you ask???...lol...Because most of them are falling apart because they were not built right and some were built on Electra Bikes...They ONLY sell and service Electra's...lol...And they know that aluminum frame pedal bicycles and motors do not mix.

I am the ONLY exception to the rule when I found the one thing I can no longer do myself due to old age and very bad arthritis...i needed to change out the front bicycle style fork to a triple tree fork on my bike and they said to me straight out that my bike is the ONLY motorised bike they will ever even look at, let alone do any sort of work on because I built it right.

They put that fork on for me after cutting it down and adapting it to the Hyper frame and it looks like the Hyper was built with it.

I haven't taken pics of it yet but plan to sometime this week to show off the new fork...By the way, that is also steel and they had me order it rather than they get one because they said their supplier only has aluminum and they will not put anything frame or fork wise aluminum on my motorised bike...They already know it won't stand up to being motorised.
 
Ok. I will let it slide , but your tone seemed very condescending. My whole interest in this hobby is to challenge myself, learn new things and keep the brain active. I am not interested in being talked down to.

I have been doing a bit of research and while there are a lot of people that agree with you, there are also some that don’t. I am not picking sides. But if we can’t explore different ideas, then we aren’t learning.

I got into this for the reason you mentioned. I repair bikes and one of my customers brought me a motorized bike that the bike shop wouldn’t touch. It was a complete death trap. It was a steel frame bike from Walmart. The problem wasn’t with the quality of the frame. The problem is those bikes are not assembled right to begin with. Someone took a Walmart bike and slapped a motor in it. I fixed it up the best I could and it sparked an interest.
 
The problem is those bikes are not assembled right to begin with. Someone took a Walmart bike and slapped a motor in it. I fixed it up the best I could and it sparked an interest.
YEP, I have seen these very same bikes in my town...Sometimes the owners of them seeing me on my bike will ask me for advice...lol...lol...They even ask me to take it for a spin and see what I think...lol...lol.

I won't even sit on the seat, let alone ride their little death traps...lol...I may be getting older, but I will not hurry along the natural processes already at work...lol.

As I always tell people, I refuse to croak right now and make so many people happy all at once...lol...lol.

This is my personal motto I have shared here in the forums from time to time over the years so people understand where I am coming from, it is NOT being condescending, it is just being plain down to earth bluntly honest is all...lol...lol.

"It is one thing to just strap a motor on a bicycle and expect it to work, It is quite another thing to carefully, methodically and mathematically, (whilst keeping the laws of physics in mind), to build a motorised bicycle that actually DOES work"...DAMIEN

A little bit of prayer doesn't hurt either...lol.
 
This bike is an Electra, it has a few challenges to get a motor installed onto it. One of the key factors is to keep the engine close to the seat post as possible. Electras are big frames and often they are made of aluminum, which is not good if you ride it hard.

1742524813850.png
 
This bike is an Electra, it has a few challenges to get a motor installed onto it. One of the key factors is to keep the engine close to the seat post as possible. Electras are big frames and often they are made of aluminum, which is not good if you ride it hard.

View attachment 227752
Is this your bike? I would love to see more detail of the front motor mount. It is a different frame, but has the same challenge. Not only is the frame stretched, but the bottom bracket is forward of the seat tube. This causes more interference with between the chainwheel and the motor. Thus, the need to raise the motor.

Would love to see a close up, it you have it.

Nice build! Looks sharp!
 
Is this your bike? I would love to see more detail of the front motor mount. It is a different frame, but has the same challenge. Not only is the frame stretched, but the bottom bracket is forward of the seat tube. This causes more interference with between the chainwheel and the motor. Thus, the need to raise the motor.

Would love to see a close up, it you have it.

Nice build! Looks sharp!
Search the photo forum for XXXX bike, it's all there.
 
I switched to that frame around page #9.

Thank you!! That helps. The motor mount actually looks like a good first welding project. Doesn't look too complicated. 'says the guy who has never welded'
 
Back
Top